Striking Out
by AsianBunny
Summary: Because of a fight between a hot headed baseball player and a girl, who is a black belt martial artist and a fan of the team he had defeated, she's forced to become his private bodyguard. But the problem is that they can't stand each other's existence.


**Me: Aloha!**** Sorry, ****I say random hellos to everyone in different languages for fun. Anyway this is my fifth story and my first RunoXDan Fanfic!**** And happy Valentines Day! Or as my friends call it, Tuesday here in Australia XD  
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**Runo: Cool I get my own! Ahhhh... chocolates everywhere (Starts gawking at candy)  
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**Julie: Hey! What about me...? Wow I just realised how pink this place was (Stares around room)  
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**Me: And the summary might be a bit weird, but I promise that its interesting… I'm sure it will be once I come up with the rest of it (Sweat drops)  
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**Dan: (Opens mouth about to say something) ...  
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**Me: (Cuts him off) Don't start with me **

**Dan: (Shuts mouth) ...  
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**Me: Now where was I? Oh right. These are my 'Keys' for this story**

**¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸= Time skip**

**+~+= Start and end of flash backs**

**{~X~}= Swap locations**

**Bold= Emphasis on words**

_Italics_**= Speaking their thoughts to themselves**

**[]= Short baseball facts at the start of the chapter going with the title  
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**Julie: Oh fine, ignore my question. AsianBunny owns it all!**

**Runo: Only she doesn't**

**Julie: I don't care anymore  
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**Runo: Someone's grumpy. Just leave her and enjoy reading**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Forced To Play Ball <strong>

**No one's POV**

**[Play ball: Umpire's call at the start of a baseball game. It means the start of something in general]**

"So is that an agreement?"

A short silver headed German asked the two sitting across from one another with long frowns plastered on their faces.

One was a light haired blunette with emerald green eyes glaring at the brunette in front of her. He returned the same stare as his incessant tapping on the lacquered oak wood table became more annoying to her.

She crossed her arms angrily and tuned away, holding her head up high as she shut her orbs tightly out of irritation "Give it to me" Her demanding voice echoed throughout the conference room that was just one out of many in the baseball stadium that they were located at.

The neutral person in between them complied and slid the black printed sheet in front of her, with a navy gold plated calligraphy pen on top for her to use.

She slightly opened one eye and glanced at the pieces hesitantly.

Her lids closed once again as she sighed deeply. _Should I sign it?_

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**Runo's POV**

Let me rewind my mind to understand how I got to here, about to sign a contract from some lawyer dude who dressed like he was from the 1660's.

I'd honestly didn't think that one drunken night on my twentieth birthday would turn out into a worldwide MyTube video with me beating up this so-called base baller, who wouldn't know what a punch-out was if it bashed them in the gut… oh right, that was me…

It happened about a week ago. But if I'm going to go back to that night, I might as well start on that very morning, when I officially got initiated to become a bodyguard.

But I'd never thought for… **him**…

**No one's POV**

_+~+ Flashback +~+_

_It was a beautiful spring day as the morning sun just started to rise from the horizon. _

_The sunlight peeped through the curtain of a certain apartment, occupied by a blue haired nineteen year old, who groggily opened her eyes, only to shut them again while covering her head with the cream blanket that kept her warm throughout the night._

_The alarm on her touch screen phone did little to help her mood as it vibrated on one of her white side tables._

_The green orbed girl groaned as she pulled the covers off her and pushed back a few stray locks before rolling over on her stomach, attempting to grab the cell as she stretched out her arm in a half-awake state._

_While in the process of switching of her alarm, she knocked it on the floor over a fluffy cyan blue circular rug under her bed. _

_Another groan escaped her lips as she literally crawled out of bed and lied on the mat for several minutes. Even after turning of her alarm, she still stayed there until her body fully woke up for the day._

_After getting up on her feet she wobbled a little before finding her balance, and making her way to her bathroom, which was lined with maize yellow tiles._

_She scratched her left eye tiringly before tuning on the steel tap, waiting for the water to turn warm before washing her face and brushing her teeth._

_Her room was quite spacious for a one bedroom loft. Her bed was in a white plastic frame with two tables beside them. One held her phone, which she had placed back before she stood up from the ground, a pair of black wayfarer sunglasses, and a light blue glassed heart container filled with a rainbow of paper stars. While the other had crystal vase with a freshly picked yellow rose, and a manga she stayed all night reading. The closet was in front of the bed and the vanity that matched the rest of the furniture was in between the door that led to the living room and the walk in bathroom. On it was metal, white painted tree that hung all her jewellery, three types of hair brushes, and surprisingly few amount of cosmetics scattered around here and there. _

_Once she had finished up the bothersome daily routine, she walked out of the bathroom and made her way to her window and drew open the jasmine yellow curtains to let the sun rays in. _

_The blunette rested her elbows on the windowsill as she rested her head in her hands. It was lined with random anime figurines and some lanterns hanging above her that lit up when she turned it on at night._

_A yawn managed to finally reach her, and a silent growl of her stomach told her it was time for breakfast. _

_The young adult shuffled to the side of her bed and slipped on her beige slippers, then walked out of her room._

_The kitchen had stainless steel modern appliances and was connected to the living room, which was decorated with a circular white leather couch, an oval glass coffee table, and a plasma screen television on the wall. _

_She walked over to the fridge and opened the door. The cold air hit her skin and made her shiver as she peered inside to see what she could eat. There were eggs, bacon, sausages, salad, and many other things she could cook. But her half closed orbs stared at the ingredients half-heartedly, so she said to herself "It's not worth it" Instead she took the milk and orange juice from the side and closed the door with a sway of her hip._

_The pale skinned girl placed the cartons on the bench and took out a bowl from the cupboard, a silver spoon from the draw below her and set them on the counter as well. She opened the milk and poured it in until it was half full. After closing it again, the blunette went over to the pantry and took out a random box of cereal and mixed it in the dish. _

_While eating her quickly made breakfast, she poured the juice into a Hello Kitty ceramic cup and took her food over to the couch and turned on the T.V. _

_It opened up to a rerun of a news broadcast from the day before, with a woman in a very loud red outfit and not enough makeup to compliment the lighting "Another win for Japans most favoured baseball team, the Battle Brawlers, against the Haos Starlight's in today's game" A picture of a burgundy eyed boy then appeared just beside the reporters head "This may be the beginning for their star player, Dan Kuso, to clean his slate. Many internet forums and the public have disliked the member for previous articles, slandering his image for over the past two years. Will this revive his reputation…?"_

_Before the anchor could finish off the segment, a very agitated girl changed the channel to an early morning anime show as a visible vein popped on her forehead. Her gritted teeth grinded against each other as she slammed the now empty bowl of cereal on the table, nearly breaking it "The Brawlers won?" She yelled out as if it was the most unbelievable thing she'd heard "They suck! They're the worst team ever! And that Kuso guy is the most hated player in the game. How could __**they**__ win?" She was partially angered at the fact that the team she rooted for lost against the players she loathed._

_Without much of an appetite to eat, she took her dishes and threw them in the sink… across from the counter. She was too frustrated, and frankly, still a little pissed to be bothered to place them there gently._

_She stomped heatedly back to her room while slamming the door once she made it inside. And at that instant her cell began vibrating on the table, playing – as her ringtone._

_She walked over and picked it up before plopping herself on the side of the bed. Her thumb unlocked the screen and activated the call instantly, all she had to do was put it to her ear "Runo here" She said first, after which a loud greeting was made._

"_Happy birthday!"_

_Two voices on the opposite line said happily. The blunette had to pull the phone away as she had gone temporarily deaf for the moment. _

_Once she recovered she blinked a few times before replying to her best friends "Morning to you to guys too. Julie you seem awfully pumped up today, well, more than usual anyway" _

_The said girl made a 'humph' sound before saying "Well duh! What did we say when you answered sweetie? It's your birthday! How can I __**not **__be pumped? Right Alice?" She motioned over to pass the conversation to their other friend "She does have a point Runo. Your turning twenty today, you should be excited about it"_

_**Runo's POV**_

_Aren't my two best friends the greatest?_

_Every year on my birthday they always call me before I see them later on. Then again, we talk on the phone most days, so it isn't much of a surprise, but they're still awesome for doing that._

_I didn't know how, but I had the feeling Julie was nodding her head as she said "Exactly the point! You're like the only girl I know who doesn't get ecstatic about her birthday" I rolled my eyes and counteracted by saying "Well __**you**__ get all hyped up when it's yours. I balance out the world by __**not**__ caring. Because I don't think every credit card machine can handle your preparation shopping, let alone your grocery list" _

_Julie is from Australia and has the most hyper, enthusiastic personality I've ever seen, heard and, well, hanged out with. She moved here about three years ago when I bumped into her at the mall while she was carrying an enormous stack of designer shoes. We both fell, a cat fight broke out, and we ended up getting chocolate cake together. You know, typical way to make a best friend right?_

"_Haha, very funny. Since it's your special day I won't talk back. Alice and I are taking our time into getting your party set up and all we get is sarcasm?" She pretended to sound hurt, which was obvious, but I still responded "Yes. Yes you do. But I'm interested. What are you guys doing this year?" _

_From a different tone of voice, a giggle was made in between us "We can't tell you. But this time it will be different than the last one. I'm just running a few errands before I make the booking" Alice said calmly, unlike Julie who's way more stoked about this._

_I met Alice a little more differently that the silver head. I was watching the championship baseball game live at the stadium last year and stayed there until everyone was gone. She was as well, wandering around the stands looking for her purse that she'd lost in the crowd. I thought it was weird for a girl like Alice to be interested in sports, because her character is like the total opposite of mine, but I guess we connect better that way._

_I found it weird that frequency of both their voices seemed completely different from one another "Hey, are you guys in the same place?" I asked out of curiosity._

"_Nope, we're doing a two way call thing. Alice on her way to the restaurant right now and I'm at the party store! There's literally glitter everywhere on me, and I'm still outside!"_

_I walked over to my closet and slid it open. I moved around a few hangers, trying to find something to wear for the day "Are you sure you didn't __**leave**__ home like that?" I said mockingly while taking out a loose, short sleeved, V neck white jersey, with the logo of my favourite baseball team in yellow on the front, and a couple of rings lined on the edges in the same colour. I also took a pair of short blue denim shorts and some over the knee high socks that matched the jumper from the draws below._

_I put my mobile to speaker and set it down on the bed frame. As I changed from my pyjamas to my outfit, Julie kept the conversation going "I'm pretty sure I didn't, but it's not like it matters anyway, I'm just warning you I might be really shiny tonight" I let out a silent laugh as I slipped into my shorts "U-huh, right. It's because of the __**sparkles**__ and not anything else" What? She said she couldn't talk back. So I'm milking this up until she says otherwise._

"_Wait a minute. Runo, don't you have that initiation ceremony today?" Alice said, completely reminding me about that event._

_I was halfway done pulling up my second sock when it finally hit me "Oh crap! I totally forgot!" I ran over to the vanity and quickly tied my hair up into two twin tails before grabbing my cell, wallet and, well, that was basically it. I don't like carrying bags all the time._

_I turned off the speaker as I ran out of the room and to the front door, while literally jumping into my black and gold Jordan's. _

"_Ha! That's what you get for being cynical towards me!" The Australian said when I stuck my phone into my pocket. I tucked in my shoes and grabbed the keys from the table beside the door and unlocked to before getting out. As I was about to lock it again I took out my cell and held it between my ear and shoulder "I thought you said I could cause it's my special day" When I finally got it shut, I made a sprint for the elevator._

_Alice, as always, became the peacemaker towards us "Guys, we have a lot of things to do before tonight. Runo you have an important occasion to get to, Julie you still need to get the decorations, and I still have to make a… reservation at the restaurant" The pause made me sort of suspicious, but I was running out of time and had to get the heck out of my building._

_I got to the lift and pressed the down button lighting it up, telling me it was on its way "You know…" I began a little depressingly. The pair on the other end made an inquisitive sound as they waited for me to continue "… you don't have to do this __**every**__ year for me"_

"_We know. We just want to" They answered back in unison. It made me smile as I let out breath "Ok fine. I can't wait for tonight" Julie then when all hyped up again "Aha! So you admit you're excited!" _

_I rolled me eyes while still having that wide grin on my face and hung up._

_I placed my cell back into my shorts and stood there by the elevator for who knows how long waiting. I couldn't take and more of it and decided to take the emergency stairs by the door across from it._

_When I opened it, the echo reverberated throughout the many endless steps to every floor. I held on the rail and peered to see how many stories I had to clear before reaching the bottom. It was set in a continuous square, it seemed like it went on forever. I was on the seventeenth floor and I had ten minutes to make it to the academy before the induction began._

_I was about to take the long way and run down, but when I looked back down the many levels I just shrugged and said to myself "Screw walking" I jumped off the protective fencing and landed to the other rail on the floor underneath me. I kept doing that same momentum going until I reached the bottom and began zipping through the city streets to get where I need to be._

_Why I was crazy enough to jump down the emergency staircase? Well I'm a black belt martial artist, which is sort of like a ninja right? And since I had those skills, I decided to become a bodyguard. I know right, they actually have a service for this, but hey, it pays well, or so I've heard. After this I'll find out for sure._

_Today was the day I finally get my licence for it. Apparently you need one for legal purposes, and the ceremony is in like, four minutes! I can make it to the other side of the city before it starts right?_

_I sped up my pace and prayed that I won't get grilled by the warden, I mean chief._

_Oh please oh please make sure I don't die on my birthday!_

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"_Ha! Read it in weep" _

_I said in a proud tone as I slid my ID card with my picture, company logo, and some of my other personal information on it, on a table towards my friends in the small tea room we decided to have lunch in._

_They moved in closer and gawked at it for a moment, examining the design. _

_Alice smiled and clapped her hands together "Wow Runo. You finally get to do some protective work, that's great!" Julie nodded in agreement as she took a half dipped chocolate biscotti from the plate at the centre of us. She winked and posed with it to the side of her head "Yeah! Now I can hire you carry my things when I shop"_

_The waiter then arrived and set each of our orders down before he started flirting with Alice. I took a bite out of my steak before pointing the fork at her and spoke while chewing "I'm a bodyguard not you servant" The silver head shut her eyes and shook her index finger from left to right and did the same with her head "Tsk, tsk, tsk. A lady never eats with her mouth full" She said all prim and proper like, so lame._

_I swallowed before I spoke again, but I did it a little too fast and almost choked "Sorry for not being so ladylike your majesty of high maintenance" The midnight blue orbed girl gasped while placing a hand over her heart for effect "I'm insulted! I am __**not**__ high maintenance! Tell her Alice!" She turned over to the orange head that had just finished talking to the server, who incidentally began making move on the fake blonde and her twin on another table. I guess they hired him to rope in customers. I thought there were a surprising amount of girls in here._

_The Russian laughed lightly while scratching her cheek "This is an argument I don't want to get involved in" That's a smart move. Otherwise my lunch might end up someplace on the green floral wallpaper. And I'm still hungry._

_Julie faked a cough, which made Alice and me turn to her "Moving on. Today, you don't have to __**act**__ like a lady, but your definitely going to __**dress**__ like one" She had on this really devious smirk that was creeping me out on all new levels "What are you going to do?" I said in a jittery scared tone._

"_Oh suck it up! You can drop kick a guy who sneaks up behind you, but when __**I**__ say just __**one**__ little thing about clothes and your soul just floats out of your body!" I don't think I was listening to her anymore as I was pretty sure I zoned out._

_Alice sighed and held a tea cup to her lips. Before taking a sip she questioned the silver head drearily "Don't tell me you're going to drag her to the store again?" _

_All the Australian did was chuckle evilly. By now, I think I had collapsed on the thankfully carpeted forest green floor._

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_Once I gained consciousness, yes, I wasn't being melodramatic I actually did faint, I woke up in a very fancy, what I assumed to be clothing shop._

_I was sitting on a spiral plum purple velvet cushioned seat that had gold accents and was set in front of several empty changing rooms. There were long white curtains place aside on a hook until somebody needed some privacy._

_I wasn't sure why I was here until I heard a high pitched squeal from behind plus a humongous pile of clothes stacked on top me. _

_As I was trying to claw my way out of the avalanche, I shouted "Julie! I know it's you! Get me out of here!" I couldn't tell if anyone could hear me as the thickness of the fabric kind of muffled my voice. _

_After a while, the weight on me seemed to become lighter and lighter, until I managed to finally see the ceiling on the place. I was breathing heavily as it was tough to get oxygen through there "Why… are… we here…?" I asked three blurry figures as everything seemed fuzzy for some reason. Once I blinked a couple of times I saw that it was Julie, Alice and saleswomen wearing a costume out of pieces from the store._

_The silver head acted as if she didn't try to kill me by sashes, and began picking out random stuff from the garments that were scattered from the floor "Well were at Bella, you know, my favourite shop, to buy you a special dress for tonight!" Oh man! She pulled me in again. But this time, Alice seems to agree with her "Don't worry Runo, it's just this once, we'll promise it won't be something you'll hate…" She paused and took an unconvinced look at the Australian "… Well, __**I**__ promise at least" I laughed at that. Luckily Julie couldn't hear her whisper that last part, otherwise she's going to go all diva on us._

_I sighed and got up from the seat. I raised my hands up and said in a defeated tone "Fine, fine. I don't want you to chase me down the street this time so I'll give in" Saying that meant several hours of endless dresses to choose from, with me __**willingly**__ wearing them and actually buying one, well at least one Julie approves of._

_Speaking of which, she had stopped listening to me and began sitting on the floor going through the things she had picked out. I rolled my eyes and sat back on the chair. Alice took a seat beside me and gave a sympathetic smile "Don't worry, we'll most likely be here for less than an hour because the booking is at eight" I put a hand on hers and said "Thanks for kind of lifting my hopes" She giggled a little while covering her mouth with a closed fist "Come on, it will be less aggravating if you contribute to Julie's montage" The Russian pulled my arm and guided me down the short flight of stairs towards the racks of clothes, while groaned all the while._

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"_See Runo, you look amazing!" Julie squealed in my ear._

_I cocked my head to the side with my mouth slightly open in a frown "I __**can't**__ see. You put a blindfold on me!" I pointed to my concealed eyes as a black cloth was tied around my head. _

_After we had found my outfit I was forcefully pulled into the changing room, and well, it all went blank from there._

_I had no idea where they were taking me, but I knew I was outside, for three reasons. First, it was cold. Second, I was made to wear high heels, and I was pretty sure I was walking through one of the night streets as it sounded really crowded. And third, I have been wandering around for a while with Alice and Julie guiding me on each side. Without them holing my body up, I'd probably fall from the shoes._

"_Where are we? I thought we were doing to a restaurant" I questioned curiously, mostly concentrating on keeping my feet on the ground with each step I take. When I was about to take another one, the duo stopped, which made me pull back._

_The Australian linked my arm even tighter and said "Well we actually had something else planned" Oh no what did she do this time? At least Alice wasn't in on this._

"_Yeah. It's your twentieth birthday today, so we're doing something a little more… grown up" The orange head said through my other ear. You have got to be kidding me! Even __**she's**__ part of it? _

_Before I could agree with either of them, I felt a pair of hands undo the knot on my blindfold._

_When they came off, my eyes immediately caught the luminescent sign above us "Halcyon, the hottest nightclub in the city?" I said unbelievably with a wide smile on my face._

_The pair shared a happy look and took one of their hands on mine._

_When I blinked a few times to adjust to the light, I finally got to see what they had put on me. But before I did, I noticed their outfits first. They looked amazing. _

_Julie was wearing a rose pink satin baby doll dress that reached just above her knees. It had a lace one shoulder strap that created an uneven pattern layer over the puffy tulle skirt. The back was low cut and the lace flowers travel down half of the outfit, like ivy growing on a tree. A simple hot pink belt held it all together perfectly around her waist. She also had a pair of strappy heeled shoes in the same colour. And as always, the Australian put on her silver heart hairclip, earrings and necklace. Her usual side ponytail was replaced with low right fishtail braid. I loved how her hair contrasted her tan skin._

_Alice wore a chiffon gown that was lilac in colour. The top was white and looked like a corset that reached to the centre of her chest and went towards the back in an upside down V shape. It was also embroidered with clear beads. The bottom half had a long, lowered back asymmetrical skirt, so it reached the floor behind and was short at the front, it showed off her milky legs. The wedge heels she wore, that was made from straw at the bottom, had royal purple leather strapped across each other like a repeated diamond pattern to keep it all together. Her hair was tied up into high ponytail and exposed her slender neck._

_When I glanced down to see what I had on, I had to admit… they did a pretty good job, even if it was a little girly._

_I was in a silk electric blue strapless dress that was a little shorter than I had wanted. It was tight and looked like it had wrapped around and over my body. I now knew I had on a pair of really high, bejewelled T strapped heels. I looked up and saw my hair was in a messy bun, with some loose strands on the sides of my face. I then moved my hand up, which had a thin navy bangle, to one of my ears and felt some crystal chandelier earrings, they were kind of heavy, a bit like the makeup I had on. But I won't complain on my birthday, otherwise I'm going to get an earful from you know who._

_That was so obvious to who I was referring to it was almost not worth concealing._

_Julie then shrieked in delight "Well what else? You'll be finally past the drinking age after eleven fifty nine. So what better way to commemorate this day than to go to a club!" I looked over to Alice with an arched eyebrow, and she got exactly what I meant. The Russian shrugged and said "Well, besides the drinking part…" She paused and shot a predictable took at the silver head before turning back to me "… We booked the entire place and all of our friends are in there. So let's enjoy the night" Alice was about to pull me down the dark tunnel of stairs before she halted and pointed towards the sky "Oh! And, please don't get drunk" My forehead was raised in a questionable way. I rolled my eyes and lifted my right hand which Julie was still clinging onto "I promise I won't get drunk on my birthday"_

_With that, the three of us laughed and we all made our way down the stairs to the underground nightclub._

_When we got down there, it seem darker than it was outside, other than the lit up checker board dance floor, in an array of every shade of the rainbow._

_There was bar on the right with a misty white counter and had the wall lined with all kinds of coloured drinks. Surrounding the outline of the place, there were various black leathered booths and tables for people to rest on._

_It was filled with people dancing and having fun, the best part was, they were all people I knew._

_When we entered the club, everyone immediately turned to us "Happy birthday Runo!" They all screamed past the booming music that lived the party up._

_I smiled and let Alice and Julie steer me around so I wouldn't get lost. We passed the DJ spinning some disks as he bounced his head to the beat through the headphones around his neck. He waved to us and we returned the gesture. _

"_See, isn't this awesome!" The Australian asked a little loudly so I could hear. I nodded and raised my voice a little too "Yeah! It's incredible!" It literally was. I've never been to a club before since the age restrictions, and I wasn't all that big on parties, but this was awesome!_

_Alice let go of my hand once we made it to a booth of some of our closest friends "I'll be back in a minute! I have to make a call!" She then disappeared into the crowd, and the dim lighting made it even harder for me to pick her out._

_Julie tugged my arm to tell me to move on and I followed her. She slid into the curved seat by everyone else and I did the same "Hey guys" I greeted normally. Now will probably the only time this night I act normal, so I might as well get it over with now and wait and see how this will mess up in the end. _

"_Runo, happy twentieth" One of the group said to me. I smiled "Thanks Joe. Where's Chan?" He had his arms spread over the head of the booth as he looked around the room. The blond turned back to me and shrugged "I have no idea. I think I lost her on the dance floor half an hour ago" I nodded and had my mouth open in an O shape to show I understood._

_Joe wore an orange T-shirt and a white blazer over it. He had a pair of black pants and matching formal shoes. His necklace was the same as the one he had always wore._

_He and Chan have been going out for a while and in secret for several months before Julie found out and spilled the beans to everyone we knew… and everyone they knew and so on… But they weren't mad about it._

"_Yeah, glad you could join the rest of us" Mira, another one in my circle of close friends congratulated._

_I rested my elbows on the table in front of us that was bolted to the floor, probably to make sure that when fights broke out, the furniture will remain the same spot, and put my head in them "Not just yet…" I paused and looked around for a clock. But considering it was a club, no one kept the time, so I gave up and moved past Julie to grab Joe's wrist which had a watch "… In… fifteen minutes, I'll officially become twenty" I released his hand, which he didn't seem too bothered by, and folded my arms while sinking into the leather patented seat. _

_Mira had peach halter styled dress that had a thin mint green belt tied around her body to show off her figure. It matched the earrings, and kitten heel flats she wore that had a long ribbon sewn at the back, it crossed around her legs until it tied into a bow just below the knees. _

_The red head waved her hand from side to side "Oh fine, we can handle a quarter an hour. But I'll wonder if you'll last" I raised an eyebrow questionably "What does that supposed to mean?" She grew a one sided smirk, and I think I heard her chuckle. The Vestal put her arms up in an all knowing way and shut her eyes "Don't you know that in every great party…" She started of all professor-like, but then her orbs reopened and said in a depressingly peppy tone "… It only takes ten minutes for it to turn into a disaster" My own eyes widened in disbelief, which she had noticed and tried to make things better "But that's what makes parties fun right?" I didn't really have anything to say, but Julie nodded along in agreement, which earned a glare from me that she sweat dropped at. _

"_Don't shoot her down on her birthday…" Paige said to take my side. She then continued, which kind of destroyed my hopes even more "… It usually takes five minutes" The Gundalian corrected for the red head. _

_I banged my head on the table, giving up on pretending nothing was going to go wrong and just gave in._

_The pink haired strongly built girl was wearing something really casual, and I totally envy her for that. She had plain mocha brown singlet with a white leather vest hoody that had faux fur around the rim. She wore a pair of camouflage loose trousers and some apricot combat boots. The black bronze studded cuffs she had around her wrists were the ones I wanted a while back, but Julie forbade my from buying them "I so wish I could wear what you're wearing" I mumbled so that Paige could only hear which made her laugh._

_After hitting my heat for a very, __**very**__, long time, the tanned silver head finally decided to stop me by putting her hand over my forehead and moving my body up "Oh stop moping about thinking that the night is going to go up in flames and let's start having some fun!" The Australian then forcefully pushed me from the booth as she scooted out too. Julie then took my arm and pulled me over to the dance floor with some of our other more distant friends._

_At some point I started dancing with everyone and got into it. I soon forgot all about the imaginary catastrophe in my head and just went with it. And with seven minutes to go, what could go wrong?_

_Oh I hope I didn't just jinx that._

_When Julie and I made it to the centre of the fluorescent platform, we had finally found the Chinese girl and had to literally scream to get her to look at us. _

_I tapped her on the shoulder and yelled "Hey Chan!" She turned to us curiously, but then showed a smile and hugged the both of us "Hi you guys! Runo happy birthday! Great Party right?" I thanked her in the same loud tone and noticed she had a green drink in her hand, probably alcohol my guess. It didn't matter because her twentieth was not too long ago._

_The brown eyed girl was wearing a short, fiery red ruffle dress that had many layers and spaghetti straps. Her shoes were a pair of shiny black ankle strap low heels, which looked __**way**__ more comfortable than mine. Unfair, but it looked cute on her._

_We danced with her for like two minutes before she disappeared._

_The Australian asked "Where is she!" I could barely hear because of the music and thick crowd. All I did was shrug and went on dancing._

_The silver head took my hand and I spined her around and she did the same for me. After a while she leaned in and shouted "I'll be right back ok!" I nodded and just kept moving while she squeezed through the wave of people._

_I was having fun dancing by myself when the music was cut off. Everyone turned towards the DJ to see Julie with a microphone, holding it like a professional reporter "Hey everyone! Sorry I had to stop the music for now, but I just wanted to congratulate the birthday girl…" She motioned her hand to me, which then made all eyes turn to my direction. I waved shyly and waited for the tanned skinned girl to continue "… Cause she turns twenty in ten, nine eight…" When she started the countdown, all my friends started following her lead "… seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUNO!" They started cheering and clapping for me. I pumped my hand in the air and did the same too. _

_The music returned on the surround sound speakers and everyone became more pumped up now that it was nearly past midnight. The Australian finished off by shouting "Party on!" Before making her way off the DJ's platform and squeezed the life out of me when she got back onto the dance floor. _

_Chan soon came back, with three glasses filled with different coloured liquids "Here! You must be thirsty!" The black haired Asian handed me a frosty yelloe one while she gave Julie a bright blue one._

_The Chinese girl lifted up her violet coloured drink and said "Cheers!" We all clanged out glasses together, but I was a little hesitant on swallowing it. Unlike the other two who had chugged it down all in one go and started dancing again. _

_I stared back at the cup in my hand and swirled it around before sucking it up and took a sip. Even just a little on my tongue made it burn, but after a while, it didn't taste half bad._

_I returned with dancing with the duo and finally finished it all up. _

_It was funny though. Cause as if by magic, the container kept on refilling with more of the same drink. I didn't even realised that I had about three full glasses, and started to feel… a little woozy._

"_You ok Runo?" Julie asked in concern. I shut my eyes tightly and put my palm over my forehead "I'm fine. I think I need some fresh air" She didn't look convinced, but showed some support for my independent behaviour and just smiled. _

_I managed to escape the crowd, but I kind of stumbled myself towards the bar counter._

_I held myself up my pushing on the ledge of it as my body seemed really heavy, like a weight had just landed inside my stomach. Once I found my balance, I left the glass there and started to go out from where I came in, up the stairs. I had to put my hand up on the wall to guide me because I felt my knees were going to buckle under me any second._

_I finally got out into the chilly air. Although it was spring, it was still damn cold._

_I propped myself on the wall beside the entrance. The intense lights of the city weren't helping with my headache that started to grow increasingly hotter by the second. _

_I wobbly walked around a corner into a dark quiet street, but the club was not too far behind, and the street lamps created enough light for me to make the outline of the place. _

_I leaned my back on a brick wall as a shiver ran up my spine. I took a deep breath and released a foggy wisp, everything seemed all so unclear. I felt as if I was spinning in circles even though I was securing myself on the sturdy construction building of an electronics store. _

_After a couple of minutes, I decided to go back. I wasn't __**completely**__ sober, but if I was gone for too long, Julie and Alice might get worried._

_Where was Alice anyway?_

_My mind wasn't really concentrating on anything right now so I didn't bother to try and figure things out._

_I walked through a glass door, which I was sure wasn't there when I arrived and walked up the stairs. I thought they went down. The place was also lighter than before. I think I took a wrong turn into a different place._

_I could hear music, only it was accompanied by really bad singing. Was I in a karaoke bar?_

_There was no one at the counter, so I just wandered around the halls that had private rooms on each side. Although they weren't that secretive as there were windows you could peer inside of, but you had to look past some plastered flyers of paper. _

_As I reached a dead end, I forced myself to turn back. I started feeling unstable and used the wall for help again._

_I nearly reached the front desk, which was still unoccupied, and was about to leave when something big stopped me._

_My eyes winded as I looked through into a room that had the person I hated most, sport wise of course "Kuso…" I seethed as I glared at him without his knowledge. The so called 'baseball player' was speaking to another guy on his team, Anubias, I think his name was. It seemed really serious, but my mind couldn't process what was happening._

_I didn't have a sense of time, so I didn't know how long I was standing there, trying to find my step as I wasn't still, but he had finally noticed me and had a curious expression on his face._

_He said something to the other guy and soon made his way out the door, and into the same hallway as me "Do you need something?" He asked in a snobbish tone. This was said to be his usual greeting when you first meet him, at least to every sports channel, magazine and person._

_I pushed myself off the edge and tried to find my balance. I sort of did but I was still a little shaky. I then pointed accusingly at him "You thief…" Man, I sound really drunk._

_The brunette scrunched up his forehead and said in the same stuck up voice "What?" I unconsciously poked him on his chest "Because of your dirty trick, the Starlight's lost the championship last year…" He just looked away for a moment before turning back to me with a solid sickly frown "They were a bunch of sore losers. We won because we were better…" He paused as he took a second to examine the deathly glare I gave him "Your Starlight's sucked, so they lost. What do you want me to do? It isn't rocket science"_

_I didn't realise that I had already punched him in the stomach, and hard._

_He hit the edge of the reception counter and held onto his side as his other hand held the bench. The arrogant jerk looked at me with a shocked expression "What the hell!" He was about to stand up straight again, but I didn't let that happen._

"_Give me back the title! That's what I want!" Out of reflexes I took his right arm, spun my back to him, and flipped his sorry butt, well, on his butt. It had knocked all the air out of his lungs as he stayed in that position and didn't move. But he was still alive I can tell you that. I guess I was just unlucky this time around._

"_Runo…?" I vaguely heard from in front of me._

_I looked up and saw, I think a fuzzy Alice, and a guy with short raven black hair beside her. I recognised him. He was another one of the Battle Brawlers too._

_I was about to say something until my legs gave way. The Russian ran towards me and I collapsed in her arms._

_The last thing I could hear was the sound of Alice repeating my name over and over again. And I think I saw Julie, just arriving at the scene and immediately ruan over to me._

_What were they doing here? How did they find me?_

_The two kept yelling "Runo, Runo!" Until I fell into the blackness, and everything else became a blank._

_**¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸**_

"_Oh my gosh, this is horrible"_

_I heard a familiar voice say, but it was a bit hazy. I think it was Alice._

"_I know right. This will affect both of them really bad!" _

_Julie? I guessed…_

_I moved my head from side to side. I think it was under a pillow. I grazed my hand over the surface of my legs, and a blanket was separating them apart._

_I attempted to open my eyes, but they were a little watery. All I could make out were two blurry figures, and an unusually white room._

_I blinked a few times and that managed to get my vision clear. I saw my best friends in front of me, sitting on an ugly brown love seat. _

_Alice had a laptop set on her thighs and Julie was leaning over to see what she had brought up on the screen. But when I had gained consciousness, the fair skinned girl shut the cover, which caught the silver head off guard. She followed her chocolate brown eyes to me and immediately screamed._

_She, at lighting fast speed, zoomed to my side and enveloped me in a bear hug. I managed to choke out "Where… am… I…?" Alice, unlike Julie managed to walk over calmly, but still had a relieved expression on her face by showing a small smile. She took a seat near the foot of the bed and said "We're in the hospital Runo" _

'_Hospital'? _

"_Why am I in a… hospital…?" My words start to slow down when the memories of last night came back to me. _

_I held my forehead in my right hand as my left was propping me up, but Julie was supporting my weight too. I felt something tight and a little rough wrapped around it, as if I had finally realised. I put my hand in front of my face and saw that it was a bandage. I turned around to look behind and the other was dressed in the same way._

_Alice could see my confused face, so she relaxed my by saying "You were really drunk last night and got into a fight…" I cut her off with empty half closed eyes "Yeah, I think I remember __**that **__part" She moved past my interruption and went on "… You had minor injuries to your hands, and when we didn't see what entirely happened, we rushed you here"_

_I heard Julie chuckle from the side, which made me turn to her "You were __**so**__stoned" She said in a mockingly amused way. I just rolled my eyes ignoring her_

_The Russian shook her head disappointingly while closing her eyes "And you promised you wouldn't get drunk" My mouth was now wide open from the accusation "Hey! I got drunk **after** midnight. And technically I said I wouldn't **on** my birthday, so I didn't break anything!" I let out all in one go. I had to take a breath to calm down._

_I then lifted my arms up as if telling them to stop everything "Ok look, I don't care anymore. All I want is to go home, and get some normal back into my life" Out of instinct, I moved my sight back to the Australian accusingly, but she was still laughing it up silently. _

_When I thought I could let everything go, Alice looked downwards to the sterile hospital flooring with an expression that made me say curiously "What's wrong?" She turned back to me with worried eyes and let out a breath once she turned away. The Russian got off the bed and walked over back to the couch and took the laptop in her hands._

_I looked back to Julie who had the same sort of expression on her own face. _

_When the orange head came back, she sat beside me, squishing in so that three people sit on the bed at the same time._

_She placed the computer on my lap and opened it up. The screen showed a MyTube tab with an already loaded video that had just been played over._

_But what really caught my eye was the title at the top of the screen 'A Real Battle with a Brawler!' _

_"What…?" I couldn't find any other words to come out of my throat, as if it had been clogged up._

_I… was being recorded?_

_Alice slid her finger on the pad and over the play button. I watched as the fight yesterday night was playing right before my eyes again. Only it was shot from a distance away, but anyone watching could clearly see that it was me, beating up the most hated base baller in the league._

_I wonder if I'll be praised for it or not…_

**_¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸_**

_"Why? Oh why? Just why!" _

_My chief at the agency kept repeating, and with each time, his preaching became even louder. _

_I guess I'm not going to get complimented on this after all. _

_I was sitting uncomfortably in the single seater white leather chair as he paced around his office. I tried to lighten the mood by saying "It's not that big a deal Marucho" Apparently that video went viral and had caught several million hits already in just a couple of hours. My boss had seen it, and everybody else in Japan, so I had to explain to him what happened the night before in detail._

_He had finally relaxed and took a seat on the longer couch beside me "Ok I get that you hate them, but what did you mean that he's a thief. What did he steal?" I couldn't believe this. Marucho had to be the most sport deprived guy ever, but he did have a brain that could outsmart anyone with just his logic alone, so protecting people is more his thing._

_I rolled my eyes and answered "The title…" I paused and remembered that game where we had lost… to them… "… It was the seventh game of the Japanese series..." I could remember all the screaming fans. One side was for my team, the Haos Starlight's, and the others, were rooting the Battle Brawlers "… It was the seventh inning. And the score was two to one. The Starlight's were in the lead by a lot. Victory was just in our hands…" The sound of the batter scrapping the dirt ground with his shoes were still clear in my memories, it was **him** "… The mound had the victory pitcher. The sniper, Julio Santana…!" The opposing team lined up, waiting for the ball to come, with that cheesy grin on his face, as if he had already won "… The ball may have gotten a little close to him …" The audience grew louder with him not taking the shot, missing the first throw "… Just a little…" And then with the second one, the crowd became even more inpatient that he didn't hit it "… And then that Kuso guy…!" With the pitcher about to give the last throw "… threw the bat at him! Both teams had to go on the field to separate them from fighting! He deserved to be called out…!" However the umpire did just the opposite "… but it was Julio who got disqualified…"_

_By the end I was hyperventilating. I felt like I was reliving that nightmare._

_"Jeez, all that for a ball game" The short blond said by the end of it._

_By just saying that I shot up from the chair and blew a gasket "A ball game?"_

_He did the same and began pacing around again "Look, whether he was a soccer player or a baseball player, whether he has character or not, if a bodyguard fought with someone while drunk, he or she is done for" The red rim glassed boy meant business, he was being serious._

_"Like I said it wasn't that big a deal" He immediately pointed at me "You have a fifth degree in Judo right?" I slowly nodded, and when I did, Marucho continued "You know that your martial arts are considered a lethal weapon once you have black belt?" I nodded yet again. I actually did know that. But all I could do was sit there guiltily._

_He then sat by the edge of his desk and folded his arms across his chest "We have to get this resolved as soon as possible. We have to keep this quiet…" Where was he going with this? "… For that, you can't let him find you" I could do with that, so I nodded once again. _

_I had to just go along with the plan and nothing could go wrong… right…?_

**_¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸¸.•*¨*`•.¸_**

_I had managed to keep quiet for four days now. I even asked Alice and Julie to make sure that if anyone asked about me, they'd say nothing. They understood, but were acting a little strange when I asked for the favour._

_"How are you holding up? Is lying low hard?" The Australian asked on the phone. _

_I was standing by the bus stop, looking left and right on the road, waiting for it to arrive "I haven't been discovered yet. I'd rather go into hiding forever if **he** found me" She laughed a little before saying "Look at yourself! You can't even say his proper name" I rolled my eyes despite the fact she wasn't here "He's a bastard that should be been cut from any team that he's a part of. It already happened once you know"_

_The bus then arrived and I had to wait in line until I got inside. I put my card into the machine and pulled it out again before slipping it into my back pocket where my wallet was._

_I sat down in an empty seat in the middle and finished off talking to Julie "I have some things to take care of so I'll talk to you later" She said goodbye to me and then we both hung up._

_I put my cell away and stared out of the window. So far I've been thanked several times on the street, and on the internet for beating the crap out of him._

_On the main base balling website that had every team in the league and their updates, I was reading, and posting, comments on that Kuso guys profile page. Comments that online users said to the video were things like._

_'I saw that coming'_

_And._

_'Baseball thug, he's just a gangster now'_

_And._

_ 'You even fight a girl? Go jump off a cliff!'_

_And._

_'He got his ass kicked? He was a softy'_

_And._

_"I should buy her a pizza'_

_I actually did order one that night, as a sort of reward for myself. There were so many comments that I fell asleep reading just half of them while I was on my laptop. But my absolute favourite was one that they all kept repeating._

_'Beautiful throw'_

_I snickered to myself as my eyes were still distracted by the outside. I had even loaded that same internet page on my mobile just so I could reread the comments again._

_The bus had finally halted to my stop and I got off._

_ I had to pay off my credit card bill, thanks to Julie as she, at some point, stole it when buying my party dress. You wouldn't believe the actual price. And yes, it wasn't returnable._

_I passed through the automatic glass doors of the company building and walked up to the front desk. There were two receptionists stationed there. One was talking to this elderly guy in a suit, so I spoke to the other one "Um, excuse me…" I waited for her to look away from the computer screen on the desk before continuing. I took out a thick manila envelope from my grey baggy satchel that hung on my shoulder and across my body. I zipped it back up and handed it to her "A few nights ago I made a payment with my card. Can I cancel that and give it to you in cash?"_

_She studied the package for a moment before moving to my face. She then said out of the blue "Judo flip?" That was something I remembered reading. I smiled sheepishly and scratched my head "You've seen it?" The woman nodded and took the envelope for me "I can do that right away…" She waited and looked around to make sure no one was listening as she leaned in closer to me, and I did the same "You're a legend. I hate that player, he's the worst" I held back a laugh and nodded my head. She then started doing something on the computer, so I just relaxed for a little bit._

_"Are you Miss Runo Misaki?" Someone questioned._

_I turned to the side to see the same old guy standing tall with white gloved hands that I hadn't noticed before. I nodded hesitantly. When I did, he pulled out a card and handed it to me while bowing "I am Kato, butler to…" I cut him off as I snatched the business card away. What really caught my eye was the Battle Brawlers name and logo on it._

_Oh no. I've been caught._

_"… Daniel Kuso" He finished off. I was so utterly shocked that I couldn't say a thing, so he just kept on speaking "The manager, and also the coach of the Battle Brawlers would like to sign a contract to hire you as Master Daniel's private bodyguard"_

_What! There was no way in hell I was going to do that "No, no, no, no, no. Not on your life pal" I was hurrying of to the exit, trying to get out of the awkward conversation when the servant stopped me by saying "If I do not have your consent, then shall I take it up with you chief?"_

_The chief? If Marucho got into in this, there was absolute certainty I would end up with the shorts end of the stick in the discussion. But I'd rather die to just be **near **one of the Brawlers "Do whatever you want. There is no way I'm going to protect that son of a…"_

_"Runo…"_

_I knew that voice and immediately stopped my rude rant and slumped. _

_My boss then walked up to my side and said "I have already talked to Dan and his manager about this matter. For the sake of the agency, yours and his reputation, you will have to become his bodyguard"_

_I was about to go on my knees and beg to him. Maybe then we'd be the same height "Marucho, please rethink this. There are plenty more people up for the job, why do you need me?"_

_He pushed up his glasses and said all smarty like "Because you're the one who started this, so you're going to be the one to end it too. Otherwise I will have to fire you" What choice did I have. I really needed the job. And if this gets out of hand, then I would probably never work again._

_I sunk down to the floor and sat on the cool black, silver specked tiles and sighed._

_I looked up to the chief and then to the butler guy "What contract?"_

_+~+ Flashback Ended+~+_

So that's my side of the story.

Messed up as it is, this lawyer handled a contract that could both help me, and him.

Although if this incident wasn't riding on my career, I would have hands down rejected this deal. But my company will hand **me** the red slip and revoke my licence, and I had just gotten it!

I sighed and picked up the pen. The cursive writing of my signature stained the piece of paper, making the agreement now official.

Now I was the private bodyguard of the most hated baseball player in the country, Dan Kuso.

The guy, whose name was Klaus, took the sheet and pen from me, placed it in his Egyptian blue leathered briefcase and closed it up by securing the golden latches. He took the handle and brought it too his side "Well that's that. I'll bring this back to the firm and contact both of your superiors to inform them" The German then bowed politely and exited the conference room leaving me with… **him**…

I gave him another cold glare. My hate for the base baller will just keep growing and growing the more I'm just around him.

_Boy, am I going to regret this in the future._

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><p><strong>Me: Next up will be Dan's side of the day. Hope I can do that well. It might be shorter, so I can add what will happen after the contract was signed, so read on!<strong>

**Runo: Leave a review**

**Dan: She needs it**

**Runo: (Backhands his head) Oh shut up. You see how much of a jerk you are in this story**

**Dan: It wasn't my choice!**

**Alice: (Bickering in the background) They do this a lot, don't they?**

**Julie: (Crosses arms and nods) Now that's tough love **

**Me: So was this too long for you guys? I admit it had more than what I was expecting, but I guess I can do this like my other really long story. Check those out too!**

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><p><strong>XOXO AsianBunny<strong>


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